Birthday Blessings

Today is my brother Richard’s 65th birthday. As we are spending Thanksgiving with my husband’s parents and assembled siblings, nieces and nephews, we will celebrate with my side of the family on Saturday. Richard, who is deaf and has learning disabilities, has lived with us since his former caregiver, our sister, died unexpectedly two years ago. Although sometimes challenging, he is a blessing for which I thank God every day.

Another blessing is William F. Buckley, who turns 80 today. He is one of the towering figures of the 20th century, as influential in his own world-changing movement as Churchill, FDR, Reagan and Pope John Paul II. George Will’s column yesterday put his mentor’s achievements into historical perspective.